The invention relates to an ankle joint brace with a dorsal leg shell extending over the back of the foot, which can be fastened to the calf by means of strapping or something similar.
Until a few years ago, the conservative treatment provided for newly-caused lesions of the outer ligaments of the ankle joint was, first of all, to immobilize the foot, pronated and dorsally extended, in a plaster cast for about two weeks until the swelling had largely subsided and then place it in a lower-leg walking cast for a subsequent period of about four weeks. For various reasons, a plaster treatment of this type is generally considered today to be obsolete. Thus, conservative care today is oriented toward functional treatment.
Ankle joint braces available to date almost exclusively surround the back of the foot, without extending farther toward the sole of the foot. Solid splint components or strappings are anchored on the damaged outer area of the ankle joint, swollen by blood flow and lymphatic fluid, which can irritate this sensitive region. However, the principal problem is that plantar flexion is usually not restricted. When shoes are equipped with ankle joint supports, the person in question generally causes plantar flexion of the foot when inserting it into the shoe, and thereby damages the ligaments in the process of being healed, especially the talo-figulare anterius ligament.
The tape dressing has proven its value in a functional sense. It does indeed achieve firm support; on the other hand, it has the disadvantage of the time and material required to bind the dressing. Other disadvantages result from the need to repeatedly replace the tapes, from a hygienic point of view and from the necessity that the placement of the tapes requires not only a great deal of time, but especially sufficient experience as well.